1994 Genocide
Hutu and Tutsi: One Culture, Not Two Tribes
The horrors of Rwanda's 1994 genocide were preceded by a complicated ethnic and colonial history. Prior to colonization, the Kingdom of Rwanda was a relatively peaceful country inhabited by two distinct classes of people, the Hutu and Tutsi (in addition to the Twa, a small minority class). Rather than existing as separate tribes, the Hutu and Tutsi shared the same culture, language and land. The distinction between them was socio-economic: the Tutsi were cattle and landowners, and the Hutu were land workers, owning few cattle.
Belgian Colonization
In 1916, Rwanda fell under Belgian rule. In a divide and conquer tactic, the colonists chose to favor the Tutsis, who were the perceived leaders in the country. Issuing identity cards to all Rwandans, which classified them as Hutu or Tutsi, the Belgians used the Tutsi minority to rule over the Hutu majority. The use of favoritism and identity cards slowly eroded relationships between the two groups, leading ultimately to their lethal opposition.
An Inauspicious Independence
In a strange policy twist, the Belgians decided to leave the Hutu majority in power upon Rwanda's independence in 1962. With an angry Hutu majority in power, they began to blame Tutsis for the years of repression endured under the Belgians. During the 1960s and 1970s, several genocides were carried out against Tutsis, resulting in tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Congo. During this time, a covert band of Tutsi refugees living in Uganda began to form a militia known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), under the leadership of Rwanda's current President Paul Kagame. The RPF's aim was to secure the right of refugees to return to their homeland. A peace agreement was signed between the RPF and then President Habyarimana, but did little to help the continued social unrest. When a plane carrying President Habyarimana was shot down in April 1994, the years of tension between Hutus and Tutsi exploded into total chaos.
The Genocide Ignites
Within hours of the president's assassination, the extremists in the Hutu government ordered an unofficial militia group of 30,000 soldiers called the Interahamwe to carryout the systematic slaughter of all Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Blaring radio propaganda everywhere, the Interahamwe identified Tutsis using their own identity cards. Rampaging across the country, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Hutus were swept into the violence and oftentimes pressured or forced to kill even their own neighbors and families. Executions continued for 100 days, until the RPF crossed the Rwandan border and took the capital city of Kigali, overthrowing the Hutu regime. By that time, it is estimated that between 800,000 and 1 million Rwandans had been slaughtered. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million people are estimated to have taken part in the killings.
